Maxim Timchenko: ensuring Ukraine’s energy independence will have a positive impact on europe's energy security

DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko spoke about the importance of developing the Ukrainian energy industry at the Atlantic Council’s online debate: “Running on fumes? The fight to fix Ukraine’s energy sector”. This year, the discussion was around energy security.

The energy crisis in Europe is putting pressure on countries across the continent in general and on Ukraine in particular. However, Ukraine can also be the solution. It is in a strong position to help build Europe’s energy security by reforming the industry in Ukraine, synchronising with the European energy system, supporting the gas industry to ensure the energy transition and developing green energy to decarbonise Ukraine as part of Europe.

Maxim Timchenko said, "Ukraine's energy security directly depends on the completion of market reform, synchronisation of the national energy system with the European system and progress on decarbonisation. Because of its geographic size and the wealth of its natural resources, Ukraine has a unique opportunity to support global trends on the path to the energy transition and lead the decarbonisation process in Eastern Europe. This includes ensuring the development of green energy and stable domestic gas production, which is key both for the energy transition and for Ukraine’s energy security. And that has to involve the deregulation of Ukraine's gas industry. We also need international investment. At the state level, it is crucial to create transparent conditions for attracting that investment, which means ensuring the state consistently fulfills its obligations to investors.”

Other panel members were Anders Aslund, Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Free World Forum; Robin Dunnigan, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the US Department of State; and Svitlana Zalischuk, International Affairs Advisor to Ukraine’s Naftogaz CEO. The online discussion was moderated by John Herbst, Senior Director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.

The key topics for discussion were transparency in the energy sector and the slow progress in the fulfillment of the state’s obligations to decarbonise the economy, including the renovation of low speed of grids and the completion of energy market reforms. The panel also talked about the current problems for the winter heating season arising from the energy crisis in Europe and the Russian military build-up at the Ukrainian borders, both of which are causing increased threats to the country's energy security.

The Atlantic Council is an American think tank, founded in 1961. It is a forum for political, business and intellectual international leaders.